Five Fires — Laura Lippman

Everyone in small-town Bellville is talking about a series of mysterious fires disrupting the typically tranquil summer. The authorities attribute them to heat lightning, but some Belleville residents are not so sure…

High-school student Beth, like everyone else in Belleville, has been following the fires â€" she has plenty of time between her monotonous day job at the deli and solitary nights at home while her mom works late. The fires aren't the only unusual occurrence â€" Beth's old friend Tara, who left town the year before after a mysterious incident, returns with no real explanation. Circumstances only get stranger when Beth unwittingly discovers clues as to what â€" or who â€" is the cause of the fires.